Valve



F. G. TROISI July 24, 1934.

VALVE Filed April' 1; 1951 Patented July 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT"or-Fica i' 17 Claims.

'My invention relates broadly to a valve and more particularly to an airor gas escape valve for diving apparatus.

The primary object of my invention is to provide in diving' apparatus anautomatic safety valve for the escape of gas or vair from a diverssuitor helmet.

An object of my invention is to provide in a helmet for divers anautomatic safety valve for 0 the escape of air or gas'without entranceof water into the helmet, said valve having an adjustable valve stem toinsure the positive positioning ef the valve on the valve seat.

A further object of my invention is to provide an air or gas escapevalve for diving apparatus that can be locked to permit a diver toascend to the surface with air in his suit in case the air lines areplugged, cut or otherwise damaged.

Another object of my invention is to provide 20 in diving apparatus apositive safety air or gas escape Valve that can be easily operated by adivers chin.

Still another object of my invention resides in constructing in a divershelmet a safety escape valve that is not involved in its operation, easyto manufacture and not diflicult to replace parts; simplicity withpositive effectiveness governing the manufacture and use of the valve.

With the above and other objectsvin view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be describedmore fully hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which likereference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of my improved device shown partly insection.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of a part of my improved valve shown partly insection.

Fig. 3 is a vertical elevation of a modification of my improved deviceshown partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of an adjustable cap for the stem of my improveddevice.

Fig. 5 is a vertical View of a locking means for my improved valve.

Fig. 6 is a detail view shown in section of the modified form of myimproved valve shown in Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 10 indicates a portion of aconventional divers helmet having a tapped aperture 11 into which isthreaded a valve housing 12 that is secured by a lock nut 13 drawn uptight against the inside of the helmet. Secured to the housing 12 andpositioned so as to bearl ilrmly against the outer surface of thehelmetis an outlet passage 14. The valve housing 12 is provided with abeveled valve seat 16 and a valve stern guide 17 into which is insertedfor reciprocation one end of a o0 valve stem 18 having beveled valvedisk 19 adapted to fit into and on the valve seat 16.

Fitted to the upper part of housing 12 is a. cap 20 that has a tappedaperture with a collar 21 around its upper edge into which is threaded55 for limited longitudinal movement a hollow stem 22 of an operatingwheel or regulator 23. A spring 24 having one end inserted 'into thehollow portion 25 of the stem 22 so as to abut against the undersurfaceof wheel 23 and the other end bearing against the top of disk 19, isplaced around the valve stem to hold disk 19 on its seat 16 against thevarying air pressures in the helmet, as set by regulator 23 and thewater pressure around disk 19. The undersurface or neck of regulator 23is upset to form shoulder 26 which is adapted to t against acorresponding shoulder 27 formed on the collar 21 of ca'p 20, when thevalve is in the closed .or locked position at which point the greatesttension is exerted on spring 24.v 8 The limit of the open position ofthe valve is set by securing to the lower end of hollow stem 22 a collar15 that stops movement of the stem when the same is brought up againstthe inside of cap 20. A strap 33 encircling collar 21 is placed over cap20 and secured by screws 34 to the valve housing 12. This strap 33prevents displacement of the cap 20.

When the valve has been normally closed by the diver turning regulator23 into the locked position, valve stem 60, as shown in Fig. 2, isconstructed to permit movement of disk 1.9 from seat 16 either byinternal air pressure in the helmet or by manual operation with thedivers chin, thereby insuring safety at all times. This stem 60 hasaround its upper end a cylinder 28 that is positioned around a shoulder29 by spinning or die compressing the end of the cylinder to form asliding tit aroundthe stem. The shoulder 29 has a sleeve 30 into whichis placed a spring 31 that has its upper end abutting a plug 32 insertedin the top of cylinder 28. This arrangement allows stem 60 with shoulder29 to reciprocate against the tension of spring 31 in cylinder 28 whenregulator 23 is locked and the4 pressure in the helmet becames dangerousto the operator; also plug 32 being removable permits replacement ofspring 31, if necessary.

'I'he valve is assembled so that, when regulator 23 is in the lockedposition, the top of cylinder gard to the front of the helmet to permita diver to open the valve by pressing his chin against a 6 plate 35threaded into the end of stem 18 inside the helmet.

In the practical operation o! my improved de-l vice, when regulator 23is in the extreme open position, spring 24 is set at a suitable tensionto normally retain disk 19 on seat 16, until the air pressure in thehelmet reaches a point where pressure of the outside water plus thetension `of spring 24 is overcome and gas or air escapes. In the courseof a diver's descent, he has to keep the pressure in the helmet just alittle above the water pressure outside the helmet and, to do this, itgenerally becames necessary to regulate the valve by turning operatingwheel 23 so as to vary the tension of spring 24 whereby disk 19 willopen at approximately a little above the required pressure inside thehelmet. The adjustment of the tension of spring 24 to permit disk 19 tobe opened at certain pressures normally depends a great deal on guesswork and the operator does not know when the regulator is near or in thelock position. A quick rise of pressure when the regulator of a divinghelmet exhaust valve is locked results in over-inflation and distentionof the suit causing the diver to rise or blow-up to the surface. Due tothis excess pressure in the suit, the diver cannot bend his armstomanipulate hisvalves or grab and hang on to a shot rope. Also, undersuchv conditions, the rubber diving suit distends permitting the helmetto rise above the divers head. The latter condition preventsmanipulation of the exhaustgvalve by chin pressure and also precludesthe divers use of the helmet telephones to advise his attendants of hispredicament.

The internal pressure of a divers dress is normally about 1/2 1b.l persquare inch in excess of the external or water pressure. In my newvalve, as well as the standard type valves, this difference in pressureis accomplished by a light spring such as spring 24 through adjustingregulator 23. To prevent over-iniiation when yregulator 23 is locked orspring 24 is broken, I provide safety means to permit the escape of airor gas.l Thus, when regulator 23 is locked andthe pressure inside thehelmet becomes excessive, the same is asserted against disk 19 causingthe end of stem 60 with shoulder 29 to reciprocate in cylinder 28against the tension o-f spring 31. This secondary spring 31 is designedand tested to cause a differential pressure of about two pounds persquare inch when the valve is fully closed, a condition which existswhen the regulator or adjusting screw 23 is screwed in until the tbp orcylinder 28 bears directly against the underside of the wheel 23. Inactual practice, my valve is adjusted in the same manner as a standardtype valve, by means of the operating wheel 23 and screw stem 22, thenormal degree of opening of the valve against the pressure of the 1/2pound spring 24 being dependent upon the clearance which exists betweenthe top of cylinder 28 and the underside of wheel 23. The diver is ableto attain any desired degree of air flow through the valve bymanipulation of theadjusting wheel or regulator 23. If theclearancebetween cylinder 28 and underside of regulator 23 is zero, as is thecase when the threaded stem 22 is screwed in as far as possible, thevalve is in the closed position, and the disk 19 is being held againstits seat by the two pound spring 31, instead of the A pound spring 24.It is thus possible to build up an excess pressure of two pounds persquare inch within the suit, which is more than sumcient to give thediver any buoyancy which he might require in practice but not enough tocause any danger. At the same time, no matter what the setting of the.regulator 23 may be, it is always possible to obtain immediately the'full opening of the valve by depressing chin button 35, since after the1/2 -pound spring 24 is compressed until top of cylinder 28 touches theunderside oi regulatory 22, the longitudinal motion of the valve diskmay be continued to the maximum degree of travel by compressing the twopound spring 31.

Although, I have set outcertain denite pressure values in my descriptionfor the purpose of illustration, I do not want to limit myself to thesevalues but desire it to be understood that these values may be changedaccordingly to effect the efllcient operationof my improved valve.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modication of my improved safetyvalve--wherein springs 61 and 62 are suitably positioned by acylindrical member 36 threaded into the hollow portion 25 of stem 64.The member' 36 has integral therewith on its inner surface a ring orflange 37 with aperture 41 that supports a plate 38 and prevents thesame from falling through aperture 41, thus dividing the member 36 intoan upper compartment 39 and a lower compartment 40. Placed in the uppercompartment 39 is spring 62 that has its upper end abutting theunderside of regulator 23 and the lower end bearing on the upper surfaceof plate 38. SpringV 24 is positioned around stem 63 with its upper endbearing against the underside of ring 3'? in compartment 40. Thismodiiication is assembled so that, when regulator 23 is in the lockedposition, thev top of stem 63 extends through aperture 41 in ring 37 andjust touches the underside of plate 38. Thus when regulator 23 is.locked and pressure inside the helmet becomes excessive against disk 19,the said disk will-be permitted to leave seat 16 by the stem 63 bearingagainst plate 38 that compresses spring A62 in compartment 39 therebyallowing a limited upward displacement `of the valve disk 19 to providefor the escape of air and gas under pressure.

I also provide a stop 52 on stem portion 65 in juxtaposition to chinplate 35 or the stop, if desired, can be placed on guide 17. This stop52 insures an air passage between disk 35 and the lower part of body 12.

In the modification, springs 61 and 62 correspond to springs 24 and 31,as shown and described in and for Figures 1 and 2, and these springs 61and 62 have the same relative strength as springs 24 and 31,respectively. Thus, in the modified form, the difference betweeninternal pressure of the divers dress and the external or water pressureis accompanlished by adjusting spring 61, through regulator 23 and stem64. Ihe outer end of spring 61, however, instead of bearing directlyagainst the underside of regular 23, bears against the underside ofplate 38 and spring V62 has its upper end abutting the underside ofregulator 23 and its lower end bearing on the upper surface of plate 38so that when the valve is fully closed, a condition which exists whenstem 63 bears directly on the underside of plate 38, the disk 19 throughstem 63, is held against its seat by spring 62. In this manner, thevalve is normally adjusted by adjusting regular 23, the degree ofopening of the valve against y with regard to regulator 23 and adjustthe length the pressure of the 5i lb. springVv 61 depending upon theclearance between the top of. stem 63 and plate 38. It the clearancebetween the top of stem 63 and the underside of plate 38 is zero,

. the valve is in the closed or locked position, and

the valve disk 19 is being held against its seat by the two pound spring62. If thepressure in the suit becomes in excess oi' two pounds persquare inch, the pressure of spring 62 is overcome `causing disk 19 tounseat, permitting the excess air or gas to escape. When the pressure'recedes spring 62 willagain seat disk 19. This action will give theoperator ltime to set his valves to permit normal operating conditions.

.In order to properly place the valve stem 66 of the valve stem 66 sothe disk 19 will properly seat on 16 irrespective of the width or heightof outlet passage 14 which may vary with diiferent helmets, I provide anadjustable cap 42. This cap 42, as shown in Fig. 4, is internallythreaded and is screwed onto the end oi' stem 66 to the proper ordesired place at which point a lock screw 43 that extends throughcountersunk aperture 49 in cap 42 is screwed down into threaded aperture50 in'the center ot stem 66 until the head of screw 43 is positioned inthe countersunk portion of aperture 49.

To lock the valve in case the air lines are damaged and it becomesnecessary to retain all of the. air in the helmet, I cut a spiral groove44, as

shown in Fig. 5, into the lower portion of stem 18 between disk 19 andthe chin plate 35. A'

lsleeve 45 having an inwardly extending projection 47 in the lumen isplaced on the stem 18' with projection 47 extending into groove 44. Thesleeve 45 is also provided with outwardly extending arms 48 so that thediver'can turn the sleeve 45 with his chin thus causing it to move,through groove 44 and projection 47, up until the upper surface of thesleeve 45 firmly abuts against guide 17, which keeps the disk 19 frombeing moved.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanyingdrawing comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of myinvention and that various minor changes in details lof construction,'proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of theappended claims and without sacrificing any -of the advantages of myinvention.

What I claim is:

l. In combination, a diving apparatus, a iluid escape valve secured tosaid apparatus, said valve comprising a body member having a movablevalve disk therein, regulating means controlling within a limited rangethe pressure at which iluid escapes from the apparatus and means adaptedto hold said disk in position up to a predetermined pressure and tounseat when the pressure becomes excessive, and secondary holding meansfor said disk adapted to become operative at a greater pressure thansaid ilrst mentioned disk holding means.

2. An escape valve for a diving helmet comprising a body member having amovable disk therein, means for holding said disk in position up to apredetermined pressure, means for regulating the pressure, and secondaryholding means for said disk adapted to become operative at a greaterpressure than said first mentioned disk holding means.

3. In a diving apparatus a fluid escape valve, having open and closedpositions, means urging said valve to closed position and means operatedfrom inside said apparatus for locking 'said valve in said closedposition. o

4. In combination, a diving apparatus having fluid valve, said valvehaving open and closed tions, means urging said valve to closedposition, said means yielding against predetermined substantislly normalnuid pressures in said apparatus, and means yielding to apredeterminedsubstantially excessive uid pressure in said apparatus and in yieldingmoving said valve to an open position. l

5.' In combination with the apparatus set forth in claim 4, meansoperated from inside said apparatus for locking said valve in closedposition.

6. In combination with the apparatus set forth in claim 4,' meansadjustable to hold said valve in .closed position until saidpredetermined exf cessivve pressure is reached.

7. 'In' combination with the apparatus set forth in claim 4, meansmanually operated from inside `said apparatus-to open said valve.

yielding moving said valve to an open position.

9. In combination, a diving apparatus having a iiuid escape valve, saidvalve having open and closed positions, means adjustably urging saidvalve to closed position said means yielding against predeterminedsubstantially normal fluid pressure in said apparatus, means to adjustsaid urging means to yield at said predetermined pressures, and meansyielding to a predetermined substantially excessive iiuid pressure insaid apparatus and in yielding moving said valve to an open position.115

10. In combination with the apparatus set forth in claim 9, meansoperated from inside said apparatus for locking said valve in closedposition.

11. In combination, a diving apparatus having a iluid escape valve, saidvalve having open and closed positions, means adjustably urging saidvalve to closed position against iluid pressure in said apparatus, meansto adjust said urging means to yield to predetermined substantiallynormal fluid pressures in said apparatus said adjusting means having aplurality of adjustment positionsv and in one of said adjustmentpositions positively holding said valve in closed position againstsubstantially excessive fluid pressures in said apparatus, and meansyielding to a predetermined substantially excessive iiuid pressure insaid apparatus and in yielding moving said valve to an open position.

l2. In combination, a diving apparatus having a fluid escape valve, saidvalve having open and closed positions, means adjustably urging saidvalve to closed position against fluid pressure in said apparatus, meansto adjust said urging means to yield to predetermined substantiallynormal fluid pressures in said apparatus, said adjusting means having aplurality of adjustment positions and in one of said adjustmentpositions positively holdingsaid valve in closed position againstsubstantially excessive fluid pressures in said apparatus, meansyielding to a predetermined substantially excessive fluid pressure insaid apparatus and in yielding moving said valve to an open position,and means operated from inside said apparatus for locking said valve inclosed position.

13. In combination with a diving helmet, a 150 43 iiuid escape valve(having an open closed posi` tion, selective adjustable means closingsaid valve against progressive predetermined normal pressures. saidmeans in one adjustment closing saidvalve against all pressures belowapredetermined excessive pressure, and meansL yielding at 4saidpredetermined excessive pressure for said valve. y 14. In combinationwith the apparatus set forth in claim 13 means operated from inside saidhelmet for locking said valve in closed position.

A adjustable means for holding said disk against.

15. In a uid escape' valve comprising a body member having a movabledisk therein,V selective progressive predetermined normal pressures,said means in one position holding said disk against all pressures belowa lpredetermined excessive pressure, and secondary means yielding atsaid predetermined excessive pressure and in yielding moving said disk.

16. In a iluid escape valve having open and' closed positions, a springurging the: valve to closed position, a regulating member to adjustmemos l said swirl to yield tially normal -nuid pressures, saidregulating member having a plurality I off adjustment posi'- tions andin one o! saidadjustment positions positively holding said valve inclosed position against substantially excessive -iluid pressures, 'and ancondar'y spring mounted inY said regulating member, said .secondaryspring yielding to a predetermined substantially. excessive iiuid pressure and in yielding moving said valve to open position. v

17.. In a fluid escape valve having avalvs stem. said valvehaving anopen and closed position. selective adjustable means closing said valveagainst progressive predetermined normal pressures,

said means in one adjustment closing said. valvev

